Technology News

CoWIN Portal, Aarogya Setu App Starts COVID-19 Vaccination Registration; Not Working for Some Users: Details Eligible citizens can self-register for a COVID-19 vaccine on the CoWIN online portal, or the Aarogya Setu app. At the time of writing, both platforms were not functioning properly. Some people in out ream couldn’t register on the CoWIN website, and the Aarogya Setu app also did not allow us to register either. The process fails in the initial OTP process only, not ...

Disney+ Hotstar March 2021: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Teddy, and More WandaVision episode 9, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Teddy movie, The Simpsons season 32, Family Guy season 19, Grey’s Anatomy season 17, Assembled: The Making of WandaVision — the biggest TV shows and series on Disney+ Hotstar in March 2021.

Netflix March 2021 Releases: Indoo Ki Jawani, Pagglait, and More Indoo Ki Jawani, Pacific Rim: The Black, Pagglait, Bombay Begums, Bombay Rose, Sky Rojo, Moxie, Yes Day, The Irregulars, Brave New World, Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 3, Diego Maradona, The Prestige, Hereditary — the biggest movies and series on Netflix India in March 2021.

Deep Nostalgia Brings Historical Photos to Life Using AI Deep Nostalgia uses AI to apply facial animations to still portraits, giving you a Harry Potter effect and bringing historical figures to life

Godzilla vs. Kong, Snyder’s Justice League, and More: March Guide to Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and Prime Video Godzilla vs. Kong, Justice League Snyder Cut, The Flash season 7, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, The Married Woman, Teddy, Pagglait, Bombay Begums, Bombay Rose, Raya and the Last Dragon, Cherry, Moxie, Invincible, DOTA: Dragon's Blood — the biggest movies and series in March 2021 on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, YouTube, Colors Infinity,...

Facebook to Pay $650 Million in US Privacy Lawsuit Settlement Facebook has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a privacy lawsuit in the US over allegedly using photo face-tagging and other biometric data without the permission of its users.

Britain to Offer Fast-Track Visas to Bolster Fintech Companies After Brexit Britain has announced a fast-track visa scheme for jobs at fintech firms after a government-backed review warned that financial technology firms will struggle with Brexit and tougher competition for global talent.

New Rules for Social Media, Online Streaming Platforms Could Threaten Free Expression in India, Say Critics Critics have come down hard on a set of new rules announced by the government that could force social media and online streaming platforms to remove content it deems objectionable. Tech companies will also have to disclose the origin of a "mischievous tweet or message" if asked by a court or the government.

Coinbase: Finding Bitcoin Inventor Satoshi Nakamoto Could Harm the Cryptocurrency Bitcoin and Ethereum markets could deteriorate if the identify of Bitcoin’s anonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto is revealed, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase warned in its initial public offering (IPO) filings submitted to the US Security Exchange Commission.

WandaVision Episode 8 Post-Credits Scene, Explained WandaVision episode 8 post-credits scene gives us a potential new villain in White Vision, a reanimated corpse brought back to life by SWORD’s acting director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg). WandaVision episode 9 release date is March 5.

Google Asked by INS to Compensate Indian Newspapers for Using Their Content The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) asked Google to compensate Indian newspapers for using their content and insisted that the global search giant increase the publisher share of advertising revenue to 85 per cent.

Amazon Summer Appliance Fest Brings Impressive Discounts on ACs, Refrigerators, Coolers, More Amazon Summer Appliance Fest sale is live till February 28 and brings up to 50 percent off on a wide array of summer appliances. The sale includes 10 percent discount with Axis Bank credit and debit cards, as well as EMI transactions.

BSNL Introduces Rs. 299, Rs. 399, Rs. 555 Broadband Plans With 10Mbps Speeds; to Go Live From March 1: Report Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reportedly introduced three new broadband plans including Rs. 299, Rs. 399, and Rs. 555. Check out all the details.

TikTok Parent ByteDance to Pay $92 Million in US Privacy Settlement TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance has agreed to pay $92 million (roughly Rs. 670 crore) in a settlement to US users who are part of a class-action lawsuit alleging that the video-sharing app failed to get their consent to collect data in violation of a strict Illinois privacy law.

Microsoft Failed to Shore Up Defences That Could Have Limited SolarWinds Hack, US Senator Says Microsoft’s failure to fix known problems with its cloud software facilitated the massive SolarWinds hack that compromised at least nine federal government agencies, according to security experts and the office of US Senator Ron Wyden.

Facebook Launches Media Campaign to Defend Targeted Advertisements in Spat With Apple Facebook is not backing down in its fight with Apple over a new privacy feature that could curb tracking needed for the social network's targeted advertisements, launching a major media campaign to defend a practice that is a big revenue generator.

Twitter Announces Super Follows Service to Charge Followers for Special Content in Revenue Push Twitter said it plans to offer a subscription service in which users would pay for special content from high-profile accounts, part of an economic model to diversify its revenue.

Facebook Switches News Back on in Australia, Signs Content Deals With Three Local Publishers Facebook ended a one-week blackout of Australian news on its popular social media site and announced preliminary commercial agreements with three small local publishers.

Army of the Dead Trailer Teases Zack Snyder’s Netflix Zombie Heist Movie The Army of the Dead trailer is here. Netflix has unveiled the first teaser trailer for Zack Snyder’s zombie heist film. Army of the Dead release date is May 21. Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, and Huma Qureshi are in Army of the Dead cast.

PowerPlay: Internet Freedom Foundation Wants to Teach People About Privacy With Playing Cards The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has launched PowerPlay, India’s first privacy card game. The designer of the game, Ishita Begani wanted to address this underlying problem of data awareness and increase the citizens’ awareness regarding the implications of the bill and push them towards voicing their opinions.

Google Recorder Web App Allows for Real-Time Transcriptions for Pixel Audio Recordings on Desktop Google Recorder Web app is now live. Pixel phone users can get real-time transcriptions of audio recordings done from their smartphone.

Social Media Intermediaries Must Appoint Grievance Officer as Government Issues Guidelines The government announced new rules to curb misuse of social media platforms, as it mandated firms to appoint grievance officer, disclose the first originator of the mischievous information and remove, within 24 hours, content depicting nudity or morphed pictures of women.

Loki Release Date Set for June 11, a Month Later Than Originally Planned Loki now has a release date: June 11. Marvel Studios announced Wednesday that the six-episode Tom Hiddleston series will premiere on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar in June, a month later than previously revealed.

Nvidia Struggles to Keep Gaming Chips in Stock, Hopes to Counter With Special CMP Mining Chips Nvidia forecast better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter revenue, with its flagship gaming chips expected to remain in tight supply for the next several months.

Twitter Dispute: India Plans New Social Media Regulations to Remove Controversial Content Chafing from a dispute with Twitter, India plans to oblige social media companies to erase contentious content fast and assist investigations, according to a draft regulation.

Facebook Bans All Myanmar Military-Linked Accounts and Advertisements Following Coup-Induced Violence Facebook announced it was banning all accounts linked to Myanmar’s military as well as ads from military-controlled companies in the wake of the army’s seizure of power on February 1.

Facebook Pledges $1 Billion to Support News Media Over Next Three Years, Defends Australia Blackout Facebook pledged to invest at least $1 billion (roughly Rs. 7,230 crore) to support journalism over the next three years as the social media giant defended its handling of a dispute with Australia over payments to media organisations.

Australia Passes Landmark Law Requiring Tech Firms to Pay for Content as Facebook Restores News Pages Australia's parliament passed a landmark legislation requiring global digital giants to pay for local news content, in a move closely watched around the world.

Twitter's New 'Hacked Materials' Warning Label Spotted on Tweets: Here's What It Means Twitter seems to have started labelling tweets with its “hacking materials” warning that contain links to news stories based on hacked or leaked documents. The update is, however, not new as Twitter updated its policy for content related to hacked materials last year.

India Approves Rs. 7,350-Crore PLI Plan to Boost IT Product Exports India approved a Rs. 7,350-Crore plan to boost local manufacturing and exports of IT products such as laptops, tablets, personal computers, and servers, the technology minister said.

RBI Has 'Major Concerns' Over Cryptocurrencies, Says Governor Shaktikanta Das The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has "major concerns" about cryptocurrencies, Governor Shaktikanta Das said, flagging potential risks to financial stability.

Lionsgate Play’s First Indian Original Is a Remake of Casual, Led by Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar Lionsgate Play’s first Indian original series is a remake of Casual, the critically-acclaimed American comedy-drama that ran for four seasons on Hulu. The Indian remake of Casual will have Lara Dutta and Prateik Babbar in lead roles, with Kunal Kohli as director.

WandaVision’s ‘Agatha All Along’ Song Out on Spotify, Apple Music, Others WandaVision’s “Agatha All Along” is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and JioSaavn. Kathryn Hahn, who plays Agatha Harkness, sung “Agatha All Along.” Here are the “Agatha All Along” song lyrics.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Nine New Photos Tease Marvel’s Next Disney+ Series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar March 19, and Marvel has seen fit to unveil nine first-look photos. They introduce the MCU’s newest character: Falcon’s sister Sarah Wilson (Adepero Oduye).

LinkedIn Says Technical Glitch on Platform Resolved Following Reports of Faulty Access to Site LinkedIn, Microsoft’s professional networking site, said it had resolved a technical glitch on its platform, after thousands of users reported difficulties in accessing the website.

SolarWinds, Microsoft, FireEye, CrowdStrike Defend Actions in Major Hack Against US Senate Top executives at SolarWinds, Microsoft, FireEye, and CrowdStrike defended their conduct in breaches blamed on Russian hackers and sought to shift responsibility elsewhere in testimony to a US Senate panel.

Facebook Oversight Board Says It Received Appeal From 'User' in Donald Trump Ban Case Facebook's oversight board has received a "user statement" for the case it is deciding about whether the social media company was right to indefinitely suspend former President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts, a board spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday.

Google Said to Be Accused of Breaching Orders on Talks With News Publishers by France French antitrust investigators have accused Google of failing to comply with the state competition authority's orders on how to conduct negotiations with news publishers over copyright, two sources who read the investigators' report said.

Twitter Removes Hundreds of Accounts It Says Are Linked to Russia, Iran, Armenia Twitter said on Tuesday it had taken down 373 accounts that it said had ties to Armenia, Iran, and Russia and had breached its platform manipulation policies.

Facebook Adds New Tools to Fight Online Child Exploitation, Will Remove Objectionable Accounts Facebook said it is stepping up its fight against child abuse with new tools for spotting such content and tighter rules about what crosses the line.

India Saw Second Most Cyber Attacks in Asia in 2020: IBM Executive Sudeep Das on What Tech Companies Can Do The report reveals that the most active ransomware group reported in 2020 was Sodinokibi (also known as REvil), accounting for 22 percent of all ransomware incidents that X-Force observed. It is estimated that Sodinokibi stole approximately 21.6TB of data from its victims, that nearly two-thirds of Sodinokibi victims paid ransom, and approximately 43 percent had their...

Facebook, Google Could Be Forced to Pay for News Content as Australia Is Expected to Pass Amendments Australian lawmakers are expected to approve amendments to landmark legislation to force Google and Facebook to pay media companies for news content, despite opposition from some minor political parties.

Justice League Snyder Cut Hero Cameo Will ‘Blow Fans’ Minds’: Report Justice League Snyder Cut ending has a cameo by a superhero that will “blow hard-core fans’ minds”. Snyder revealed that he isn’t getting paid for Justice League Snyder Cut. He also said that he’s never seen Joss Whedon’s Justice League.

After Facebook, Twitter Ban, Donald Trump Fans and Extremists Turn Elsewhere Gab instead of Twitter, MeWe over Facebook, Telegram for messaging and Discord for insiders – banned from mainstream platforms, US conspiracy and supremacist movements, many of which support Donald Trump, have shifted to networks that are more confidential and harder to regulate.

Alphabet Said to Be in Talks With Spanish Publishers to Bring Google News Back Google is negotiating individual licensing deals with a divided Spanish news industry that could allow the US tech giant's news service to resume in the country, three sources close to the matter said.

Microsoft, EU Publishers Seek Australia-Style News Payments From Big Tech Platforms Microsoft is teaming up with European publishers to push for a system to make big tech platforms pay for news, raising the stakes in the brewing battle led by Australia to get Facebook and Google to pay for journalism.

Google to Resume Political Advertisements in US, Easing Ban Imposed Last Month Over Capitol Violence Google said it would lift its ban on political advertisements on its platform imposed last month following the turmoil surrounding the violent uprising at the US Capitol.

Facebook to Restore Australia News Pages as Deal Reached on Media Payment Law Facebook said it will lift a contentious ban on Australian news pages "in the coming days," after the government agreed to amend a world-first media law fiercely opposed by the tech giant.

Spotify Launches Into 85 New Markets in ‘Next Few Days’ Spotify is expanding to 85 new markets in the “next few days” across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America, co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek announced at its online-only Stream On event on Monday.

Spotify Will Soon Be Available in Hindi The Spotify app will soon be available in Hindi. At its online-only Stream On event on Monday, Spotify announced that Hindi is part of a wave of 36 new languages coming soon to Spotify, alongside the likes of Romanian and Swahili.

Spotify HiFi Lossless Tier Coming Later in 2021 Spotify is getting into the high-quality audio business with Spotify HiFi. At its online-only Stream On event on Monday, Spotify announced Spotify HiFi, a new lossless tier that will be priced at higher than the existing Spotify Premium subscription.

Spotify Clips Brings Instagram Stories Format to Spotify for Artists Spotify is jumping on the “Stories” bandwagon with Spotify Clips. At its online-only Stream On event on Monday, Spotify announced Spotify Clips — à la Snapchat and Instagram Stories — that will be available on Spotify artist pages.

Watch Dogs: Legion Online Is Out March 9. Here’s What You Should Know Watch Dogs: Legion online release date in March 9. Here, I talk about Watch Dogs: Legion online game modes, gameplay, and what you can expect when the multiplayer update drops on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One S/X, Xbox Series S/X, Stadia, and Amazon Luna.

Government Sites Said to Have Critical Vulnerabilities; NCIIPC and CERT-in Step In: Reports Sakura Samurai, a researchers’ collective, found a host of critical vulnerabilities in dozens of government-run Web services, more than half of which reportedly belonged to state governments. Check out how the issue was brought under the attention of the Indian government for remedial actions.

Netflix Can Now Automatically Download Movies and TV Shows for You Netflix’s Downloads for You can now automatically download movies and TV shows that you might like. Here’s how to set up this advanced Smart Downloads feature in the Netflix app.

Chinese Spyware Code ‘Jian’ Was Copied From America's National Security Agency, Researchers Say Chinese spies used code first developed by the US National Security Agency to support their hacking operations, Israeli researchers said, another indication of how malicious software developed by governments can boomerang against their creators.

Apple Lends Manufacturing Help as Nasal Swab Maker COPAN Diagnostics Ships 15 Million Kits Apple said nasal swab maker COPAN Diagnostics has shipped 15 million COVID-19 sample collection kits to hospitals in California, Texas and other US states, bolstered by manufacturing help from the tech giant.

Bitcoin Slips Sharply From Record High of $58,354 Within a Day Bitcoin fell sharply on Monday after surging to a record $58,354 (roughly Rs. 42 lakh) a day earlier, as a selloff in global equities curbed risk appetite.

Future-Reliance Deal: Supreme Court Said to Bar Final Tribunal Ruling on $3.4-Billion Deal India's Supreme Court barred a final ruling by a tribunal reviewing Future Group's $3.4 billion (roughly Rs. 24,640 crore) sale of retail assets until the top court hears objections from aggrieved partner Amazon, three sources said.

Social Media Posts Must Prominently Label Promotional Content: ASCI Issues Draft Guidelines for Influencers ASCI has put together a set of proposed guidelines for social media influencers, saying that all promotional content must carry disclosure labels on all platforms, for easy understanding of viewers.

Future-Reliance Deal: Supreme Court Issues Notice on Amazon’s Plea on Court Order to Maintain Status Quo The Supreme Court sought responses from Future Retail and others on Amazon's plea against the Delhi High Court direction to maintain status quo on the Future-Reliance deal.

Army of the Dead Release Date Set for May 21 on Netflix Army of the Dead — Zack Snyder’s Netflix zombie heist film — now has a release date: May 21.

Clubhouse Chats Get Breached as a User Streams Audio Feeds From Multiple Rooms, Raising Security Concerns A week after popular audio chatroom app Clubhouse said it was taking steps to ensure user data couldn’t be stolen by malicious hackers or spies, at least one attacker has proven the platform’s live audio can be siphoned.

Facebook News Blackout: Australia Won’t Advertise COVID-19 Vaccine on Social Media Platform Australia's government pledged a publicity campaign for its rollout of COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday – but not in Facebook advertisements, as a feud continues over the social media giant blocking news content from its platform in the country.

Facebook Takes Down Main Page of Myanmar Military Over Incitement of Violence Facebook deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under its standards prohibiting the incitement of violence, the company said, a day after two protesters were killed when police opened fire at a demonstration against the February 1 coup.

Facebook News Blackout: Australia Won’t Change Planned Content Law Despite Block Australia will not change proposed laws that would make Google and Facebook pay news outlets for content, a senior lawmaker said, despite vocal opposition from the Big Tech firms.

Twitter to Continue Allowing Posts From Anonymous Accounts Amid Pressure from Premier League Stars Over Abuse Twitter will continue to allow people to post from anonymous accounts despite protests from Premier League chiefs over the abuse suffered by several of their star players on the platform. "We believe everyone has the right to share their voice without requiring a government ID to do so,” said Twitter.

Facebook Has 'Tentatively Friended' Us Again, Says Australia After Site Blocks News Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that Facebook was back at the negotiating table after the tech giant this week blocked news on its site in the country.

Google AI Chief Apologises for Timnit Gebru’s Acrimonious Exit in Email to Staff Google CEO Sundar Pichai in an email to staff acknowledged the fault in Timnit Gebru’s acrimonious exit and said Google will start grading executives based on workforce diversity goals and increase human resources staffing. The email included comments by Jeff Dean, who leads the company’s AI and research efforts, saying he was sorry for how he handled Gebru’s ex...

Google Fires AI Ethics Lead Margaret Mitchell After Timnit Gebru as Dispute Over Research Grows Google has fired Margaret Mitchell, another top AI ethics researcher and leader, months after dismissing Timnit Gebru. Google said in a statement that Mitchell violated the company's code of conduct and security policies by moving electronic files outside the company.

WandaVision Episode 7 Post-Credits Scene, Explained WandaVision episode 7 post-credits scene finds Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) snooping around, being caught by Pietro Maximoff (Evan Peters), and falling under Agatha Harkness’ (Kathryn Hahn) spell.

Elon Musk Says Bitcoin ‘Less Dumb Form of Liquidity Than Cash’, He Defends Tesla’s $1.5-Billion Investment Elon Musk took to Twitter on Friday to say that Bitcoin “is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash.” He responded to a Bloomberg TV interview of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao and wrote, “Having some Bitcoin, which is simply a less dumb form of liquidity than cash, is adventurous enough for an S&P500 company.”

WandaVision Episode 7 Recap: A Magical Duo WandaVision episode 7 review: Agnes / Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) reveals herself as the WandaVision villain, while Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) reveals that she too has superpowers. Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) is going to need some saving.

Elon Musk’s Starlink Gets Rejected by French Village on Installation of Antennas Saint-Senier-de-Beuvron, population 350, is none too thrilled to have been picked as a ground station for Musk's Starlink project for broadband from space.

Office 2021 With Dark Mode Support Announced, Microsoft to Begin Rollout Later This Year In a blog post, Microsoft has announced that Office 2021 and Office 2021 LTSC version will be available later this year. An exact rollout timeline hasn’t been announced and details about new features will also be revealed closer to general availability.

Google Revamps AI Teams in Wake of Researcher Timnit Gebru’s Departure Google restructured its responsible artificial intelligence efforts to centralise teams under a single executive, Marian Croak, in a move by the Internet giant to stabilise groups working on ethics research and products after months of chaos.

Apple Could Be Looking to Develop 6G Wireless Technology, Posts Job Listings for Engineers Apple launched its first iPhone handsets with 5G wireless speeds a few months ago. Now it’s looking to start work on sixth-generation cellular connectivity, or 6G, indicating it wants to be a leader in the technology rather than relying on other companies.

Mortal Kombat Trailer Promises a Bloody, Action Movie True to the Games The Mortal Kombat trailer has arrived. Warner Bros. Pictures has unveiled a two-and-a-half-minute first trailer for its R-rated (certified “A” in India) adaptation of the Mortal Kombat video game series, which features an action-packed and bloody look at the fantasy movie.

Facebook Inflated Its Advertising Audiences to Generate More Revenue, Companies Say in Lawsuit Facebook knew that its estimates of user numbers were unreliable and artificially high but ignored the problem in order to generate more advertising revenue, companies said in legal documents.

Facebook Australia News Blackout: UK Lawmaker Says Time to Get Tough Against ‘Bully Boy Action’ Facebook's move to block all news content in Australia is an attempt to bully a democracy and will stiffen the resolve of legislators across the world to get tough with the tech giants, a senior British lawmaker said.

Amazon India’s Alleged Strategy to Dodge Regulators Said to Be Investigated by Enforcement Directorate India's federal financial crime-fighting agency will examine findings in a Reuters report that revealed that Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform and used them to circumvent the country's foreign investment rules, a senior agency source said.

Kalashnikov Woos Gadget Lovers With Ultima Shotgun That Syncs With Smartphones, Eyes Production in India Russian arms manufacturer Kalashnikov plans to start making its AK-203 assault rifle in India this year and wants to attract a wider audience with a hi-tech shotgun, chief executive Dmitry Tarasov said.

WandaVision Episode 7 Goes Full Modern Family in New Clip WandaVision episode 7 drops later on Friday on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, and Marvel has released a one-minute clip that reveals WandaVision episode 7 will draw off modern-day sitcoms such as Modern Family.

Facebook News Blackout: Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison Commits to Content Payment Law Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison vowed to press ahead with laws to force Facebook to pay news outlets for content, saying he had received support from world leaders after the social media giant blacked out all media.

Facebook Urged by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison to Lift News Blockade, Calls Move a ‘Threat’ Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Facebook to lift its blockade of Australian users and return to the negotiating table with news publishing businesses, warning that other countries would follow his government’s example in making digital giants pay for journalism.

WhatsApp to Move Ahead With Privacy Update Despite Backlash, Will Display Banner With Additional Information WhatsApp said it will go ahead with its controversial privacy policy update but will allow users to read it at "their own pace" and will also display a banner providing additional information.

Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs Will Testify About Misinformation Before US Congress The chief executives of Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter will testify before a US House panel on March 25 on "misinformation and disinformation plaguing online platforms."

For All Mankind Season 2 Review: Lunar Cold War Heats Up For All Mankind season 2 review: the Apple TV+ series jumps to 1983 with Cold War-era tensions at their peak, as the Americans and Soviets clash on the Moon. Joel Kinnaman, Michael Dorman, Wrenn Schmidt, Sarah Jones, and Shantel VanSanten lead For All Mankind cast.

IPL 2021 Auction: How to Watch Live IPL 2021 auction kicks off 3pm IST on Thursday, February 18 in Chennai. The live stream of the IPL 2021 auction is available on Disney+ Hotstar.

YouTube Brings Updates to Enhance Experience for Creators and Viewers; YouTube Shorts Launches in US YouTube is bringing a range of new updates to enhance the experience of both creators and viewers on the platform globally. YouTube Shorts is also coming to the US in March. The feature has been under testing in India.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Reclaims Title of World's Richest After Elon Musk Slips Tesla CEO Elon Musk is no longer the world’s richest person, as his company shares slid to make way for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to reclaim the top spot.

Clubhouse Emerges as Platform for Thai Dissidents, Government Issues Warning Thailand warned users of Clubhouse not to break the law after the audio social media app emerged almost overnight as a platform for discussion of the monarchy, the latest example of the fast-growing app drawing the ire of governments in Asia.

Google Classroom, Google Meet Gets Updated With Over 50 Features for Students and Educators Google today announced more than 50 new features to its products including Google Classroom and Google Meet. Google has also rebranded its existing G Suite for Education as Google Workspace for Education.

Amazon Sued by New York State Over COVID-19 Safety Protocols The New York attorney general is suing Amazon over COVID-19 safety protocols, accusing the company of being more concerned with making money than protecting its workers from getting sick.

Mortal Kombat Trailer Release Date Set for Thursday The first Mortal Kombat trailer will release on Thursday, February 18, Warner Bros. has announced. It will be available at 10:30pm IST/ 9am PT/ 5pm GMT.

Hike CEO Aims to Rival Facebook With Vibe Social Networking Platform and Rush Gaming Portal Kavin Bharti Mittal, a scion of the family behind India’s second-biggest wireless operator, is planning to revive his struggling technology startup Hike through two new platforms – Vibe and Rush.

Microsoft Teams Hit by Potential Networking Issues, Company Says ‘Mostly Resolved’ Microsoft said it had mostly resolved the technical issue that delayed message delivery on its widely used Teams workplace messaging app earlier on Wednesday.

Google Strikes Deal With News Corp as Australia Pushes for Payment Regulation News Corp struck a global news deal with Google, the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company said, in one of the most extensive deals of its kind with big tech.

Amazon India Responds to Report on Secret Strategy to Dodge Regulators as Retailer Group Calls for Ban A leading group of Indian retailers on Wednesday urged the government to ban the local operations of Amazon, after a report said that the US e-commerce giant has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform and used them to circumvent the country's strict foreign investment regulations.

Facebook Blocks News Sharing on Platform in Australia Over Media Payment Law Facebook announced it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism.

Amazon India Said to Have Deployed Secret Strategy to Dodge Regulators Amazon has been giving preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform, suggest internal company documents reviewed by Reuters. The e-commerce giant is said to have publicly misrepresented its ties with these sellers and used them to circumvent increasingly tough foreign investment rules.

Elon Musk's SpaceX Raises $850 Million in Fresh Funding: Report Tesla CEO Elon Musk's SpaceX reportedly completed an equity funding round of $850 million (roughly Rs. 6,190 crore) that sent its valuation to about $74 billion (roughly Rs. 5,39,000 crore) last week.

Google to Invest $75 Million in Coronavirus-Hit Small Businesses Google is teaming up with the European Investment Fund (EIF) and two other organisations in Latin America and Asia to provide $75 million (roughly Rs. 545 crore) in funding to small- and medium-sized companies suffering from the impact of COVID-19.

Digital Intelligence Unit Planned by Government to Help Deal With Fraudulent Transactions and Telecom Frauds The government is setting up a nodal agency called Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) to work with law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and telecom service providers for investigating fraudulent activities involving telecom resources. Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the ris...

Facebook Fined EUR 7 Million Over Improper Data Use by Italian Watchdog Facebook was fined EUR 7 million (roughly Rs. 61 crore) by an Italian watchdog for not complying with a request by the regulator to correct improper commercial practices in the group's treatment of user data.

Microsoft Edge Gets Kids Mode for Safer Browsing, Adaptive Notification Requests Feature for Select Pop-Ups Microsoft Edge Kids Mode has been introduced to offer Web browsing in a child-friendly, customisable manner. Microsoft Edge has also rolled out adaptive notification requests that studies crowdsourced data to stop showing notification requests from websites that other users don’t prefer to see.

ACT Fibernet Revises Plans in Bengaluru, Offers Higher FUP Limit at the Same Cost ACT Fibernet has revised its plans in Bengaluru. The cheapest plan offered by ACT in Bengaluru costs Rs. 710 and now brings 500GB of monthly data that is double from what it was previously offering.

Royal Enfield ‘Make It Yours’ Is a Unique Online Tool That Lets You Customise and Book Your New Motorcycle In a move that will appeal to many in this new era of social distancing, Royal Enfield now allows you to customise and book your new motorcycle entirely online using the ‘Make It Yours’ Configurator. The tool is available on the website, as well as through an app.

WandaVision to Kick Off MCU Phase 4 Docuseries Assembled on March 12 Assembled, a Marvel Studios behind-the-scenes docuseries, kicks off March 12 with Assembled: The Making of WandaVision. More episodes to follow after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Loki, Shang-Chi, Eternals, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye later in 2021.

eBay-Adevinta Deal: UK Watchdog Voices Concern Over $9.2-Billion Acquisition Britain's competition watchdog raised concerns over Adevinta's planned acquisition of US e-commerce group eBay's classified advertisements business.

Google News Content Payment Row: Australia Says New Laws Already Working Australia said promised laws forcing tech giants to pay media outlets for content had already succeeded after reports that publisher and broadcaster Nine Entertainment agreed on a licensing deal with Google.

Amazon Quietly Acquires Australia-Based Shopify Rival Selz Amazon has quietly purchased the Australia-based e-commerce platform Selz that enables businesses to build their own online stores.

5G Phones May Interfere With Aircraft Altitude Instruments, French Regulator Says The latest generation of smartphones, 5G, can interfere with aircraft altitude instruments, the French Civil Aviation Authority warned as it recommended they should be turned off during flight.

Bitcoin Crosses $50,000 as It Wins More Mainstream Acceptance Bitcoin rose above $50,000 (roughly Rs. 36 lakh) on Tuesday for the first time, adding steam to a rally fuelled by signs that the world's biggest cryptocurrency is gaining acceptance among mainstream investors and companies.

TikTok's US Advertisement Business Roars Back as Donald Trump's Threats Recede While the Biden administration pauses a government lawsuit filed by Trump officials, corporate sponsors have raced back to TikTok, booking advertising campaigns and experimenting with new ways to reach consumers.

Future Group Creditors Said to Scramble to Recover $2.5 Billion Loans Amid Reliance Deal Woes Future Group's creditors are exploring options to recover more than $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 18,180 crores) in loans, amid worries the Indian retailer's planned sale of assets to Reliance Industries could fail, four bankers with knowledge of the matter said.

Godzilla vs. Kong Trailer Gives Us More of the Titular Battle A new Godzilla vs. Kong trailer has dropped. HBO Max and Legendary Pictures have unveiled a new minute-long teaser for Godzilla vs. Kong that reiterates Kong’s bond with the young girl Jia (Kaylee Hottle) and gives us new shots of the fights between Godzilla and Kong.

Telenor Stops Listing Myanmar Internet Outages Citing Fears for Employees After Military Coup Telenor said that concerns for its employees' safety had stopped it from listing forced Internet outages in Myanmar following the February 1 military coup.

Parler Relaunches After Being Forced Offline Over US Capitol Violence Incitements Parler, the social network platform popular with supporters of Donald Trump, announced it had relaunched after being forced offline over incitements to violence on the platform.

Elon Musk Invites Russia President Vladimir Putin to a Clubhouse Chat, Kremlin Says ‘Interested’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was interested in tech billionaire Elon Musk's proposal that the two men chat on the audio chat app Clubhouse.

Twitter a Goldmine for Tracking Consumer Mood on Prices, Bank of Italy Finds The Bank of Italy said a set of experimental indicators it created from the content of millions of tweets accurately tracked consumer mood on price, offering scope for a powerful new monetary policy tool.

Google to Pay EUR 1.1-Million Fine Over Hotel Ranking Practices, French Finance Ministry Says Google Ireland and Google France have agreed to pay a EUR 1.1-million (roughly Rs. 10 crore) fine after a probe found that Google's hotel rankings could be misleading for consumers, France's finance ministry and fraud watchdog said.

WhatsApp, Centre Gets Supreme Court Notice on Plea Over Lower Privacy Standards for Indian Users The Supreme Court asked the Centre and WhatsApp to reply to a fresh plea alleging lower standards of privacy for Indians in comparison to European users saying it is the duty of the judiciary to protect citizens' privacy.

SolarWinds Hack Was 'Largest and Most Sophisticated Attack' Ever, Microsoft President Brad Smith Says A hacking campaign that used a US tech company as a springboard to compromise a raft of US government agencies is "the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen," Microsoft President Brad Smith said.

Justice League Snyder Cut Trailer Sets Up Zack Snyder’s Age of Heroes The Justice League Snyder Cut trailer is here, as promised. HBO Max and Warner Bros. have unveiled a new two-minute trailer for Zack Snyder’s Justice League that features Joker (Jared Leto), Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill), and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) among others.

Elon Musk Says He Supports Top Dogecoin Holders Selling Most of Their Coins Elon Musk said that he supports major holders of the meme-based digital currency dogecoin selling most of their coins, adding that he felt too much concentration in dogecoin was the "real issue."

Google Strikes Deal With Australian News Outlet Amid Content Payment Row Australia's Seven West Media became the country's first major news outlet to strike a licensing deal with Google, as the government pushes ahead with a law that would force the Internet giant to pay media companies for content.

Amazon Faces Biggest Union Push in Its History Amazon workers are holding a vote in the US state of Alabama in the biggest unionisation push the e-commerce giant has faced since it was founded in 1995. A majority of the 6,000 employees have to vote “yes" in order to unionise.